Sad, sad numbers

Here’s a depressing fact: a new Gallup poll released on the eve of Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday showed only 39% of the population believes in evolution. What is so frustrating is roughly 36% of the respondent cited they had no opinion.

Not having an opinion about evolution is the equivalent of not really caring if the Earth revolves around the sun. I’m sure it doesn’t affect your daily life, but this is just ridiculous! It just goes to show that the problem is too many people are on the fence. If we could convince all of these sad fence sitters to start actually having some educated ideas about evolution, the numbers would start being a bit more encouraging.

For those of you wondering why the evolution debate in the US is so fierce, you only need to look at the poll numbers to discover why. The future of science in America hinges on the battle for the hearts and minds of the public, and so far, creationists have been able to make people question the validity of the theory enough to not have an opinion about it. It’s sad, frustrating, and rather depressing.

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Comments (6)

But another way to look at this is that the largest group of people believe in evolution. That is a basis on which to build.
This sort of thing isn’t going to be dealt with in a month, or a year or even ten years. The fight to bring science and reason to the forefront and superstition and religion to the back is, unfortunately, going to take generations.
Chin up as we say in the UK! These figures could be a lot worse!

What is sad and frustrating is that obviously intelligent and educated individuals spend so much time harpooning other people’s supposed biases and yet remain completely blind to their own. This poll has one one major flaw namely, that it leaves zero room for uncertainty. Either you positively believe in Evolution, you positively don’t or you just don’t care enough to have an opinion either way. In reality much of that 36% probably does care, but are not satisfied enough with the evidence presented by the scientific community to say either way. Or maybe they think the picture Evolution paints leaves out too much to be taken on its own. They might even be unfamiliar with what Evolution really is. The poll question fails to provide a definition. But no matter what the reason, it is entirely unfair to lump in those who don’t know, with those who don’t care and then malign them for it. For a member of a community which so often complains of being prematurely judged, to turn around and judge others so harshly (without even the benefit of a little objective reasoning) is what is truly depressing.

Personally, I get tired of polls or people asking other people if they “believe” in the theory of evolution. It’s not something that needs to be “believed” but rather something that needs to be understood. It’s like asking me if I “believe” in gravity. It’s not a belief, it’s a scientific fact.

And that science does not ever claim to have found the 100% truth is one of its biggest strengths. It is open to review if new evidence is found.
Religion is closed ; if new evidence comes about then it must make more and more rediculous jumps to try and keep what was written in a book by people correct. Dinosaur bones put in the ground to test the faith, anyone?